1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates, generally, to a method and apparatus for a tapered tubular skylight system and a permanently sealed skylight system.
2. Description of Related Art
Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that due to recent publication dates certain publications are not to be considered as prior art vis-a-vis the present invention. Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.
With a typical tubular skylight, a hole is cut into the roof of the structure and a flashing is then secured over the hole. A reflective cylindrical light tube is lowered through the flashing with a clear dome attached to the top. Inside, a diffuser is added to the bottom of the light tube along with safety wires that connect the diffuser to the ceiling, thus allowing natural light to enter the building.
There are many problems with this type of system, namely product design, wasted installation time, shipping and storage. Installing a clear outer dome causes much of the early morning, evening, and low winter light to pass through the dome, not down the light tube. When a reflector is used in the dome to catch low angled light, it will also deflect some light from the light tube during peak summer hours. Securing the outer dome to the flashing with screws or bolts consumes time and tends to crack the outer dome at the points of pressure. Also, in this area where the dome meets the flashing, small holes or slits are used in an effort to keep out condensation that builds up inside tubular skylight systems. The holes allow the system to breathe, exhaling in the heat of the day, and inhaling moisture, dust, bugs, and other contaminates at night, which in time ruins the highly reflective light tube.
A flashing has two purposes, to provide a base to attach the light tube and dome, and to cover up mistakes made in cutting the hole in the roof by the installer. The flashing is a waste of time and money. The light tube's straight cylindrical shape causes many problems. If shipped to the job site already assembled, much space is taken up for this shipping. If the assembly is done on the job, usually a foil tape is used, which has been shown to undo over time. Therefore, safety wires must be installed on the inside of the building connecting the bottom of the tube to the ceiling to prevent the tube from falling. This causes a safety hazard and is unsightly.
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a permanently sealed, tubular skylight system with a fully diffused (e.g. polycarbonate) outer dome, and a tapered light tube. No flashing is necessary, it is easily assembled on site, and easy to ship and store.
A tapered skylight system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,667, entitled “Passive Collimating Tubular Skylight,” to O'Neill. However, the taper is wider at the bottom than at the top.
American Manufacturing & Marketing System produces a “Square-Flex” skylight system with a flexible light tube.
A skylight system with a higher back than front is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,329, entitled “Light Conducting Tube for a Skylight,” to Hoy et al. However, the skylight is cut on site to match the pitch of the roof.
Several patents show various features of skylights and other roof accessories as follows: U.S. Design Pat. No. D464,436, entitled “Collapsible Skylight Tube Having Open Ends and a Light Reflecting Inner Surface,” to Hoy et al., shows a collapsible skylight with an light reflecting inner surface. U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2002/0051297, entitled “Light Conducting Tube for a Skylight,” to Hoy et al., also shows a light tube with light reflecting inner surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,922, entitled “Solar Light Receiving and Side Emitting System,” to Mors, also discloses a skylight system with light reflecting interior surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,712, entitled “Light-Collecting Skylight Cover,” to Chao, describes a skylight system with light redirecting and a diffuser. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0079422, entitled “Tubular Skylight for Lighting Rooms with Natural Light,” to Bracale, discloses a skylight with reflective inner surfaces and a diffuser. U.S. Pat. No. Re. 36,496, entitled “Skylight,” to Sutton, describes a skylight with a reflector. U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,967, entitled “Natural Light Distributing Apparatus,” to Greenwood, discloses a skylight tube with mirrored interior surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,566, entitled “Window with Reflective Enclosure,” to Gilowski, describes a window/light tube arrangement. U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,186, entitled “Lighting Fixture,” to Dominguez, discloses a skylight with a liftable lid. U.S. Pat. No. 6,256,947, entitled “Method and Apparatus for a Tubular Skylight System,” to Grubb, discloses using a prismatic diffuser. U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,592, entitled “Nest of Curbs,” to Strieter, describes a nest of roof curbs for roof-top mounting of equipment.
None of these prior art systems describe a tapered skylight, with the taper being wider at the top than the bottom. Nor do any of these prior art system disclose a permanently sealed skylight system.